


Redhead

by Servena



Category: Titanic (1997)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Bickering, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hair Dyeing, Hair Washing, Hiding in Plain Sight, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Love, Running Away, changing appearance, hidden identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-07-07 16:25:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15911955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Servena/pseuds/Servena
Summary: “Are you sure about this?” Jack asked for what felt like the hundredth time.





	Redhead

“Are you sure about this?” Jack asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

“Yes”, Rose answered firmly, looking at him in the mirror.

“Your beautiful hair”, he sighed as he ran his fingers through the red strands.

She rolled her eyes at him. “It will wash out.”

He tucked a stray strand behind her ear. “Well, what if it doesn’t?”

“Then it will grow out.” She turned around and looked up at him slyly. “Unless you’re not planning to stay with me long enough?”

He laughed as she stuck her tongue out at him, and then leaned down to press a kiss to her lips. “I plan to stick with you for all eternity”, he said earnestly.

“Well, by then my hair will surely have reached the floor.” She grinned.

“Then I guess I’ll have to walk behind you to carry it”, he said.

She laughed out loud. “Now that would be a sight!” She turned back around. “Now are you going to get started or do I have to do everything myself?”

“Fine, fine.” He raised his hands in defeat and then motioned for her to lean back in the chair. “Alright, Helga said it has to be wet first.”

“Makes sense.”

He washed her hair inside a bucket that sat on a table he had dragged into the small cabin. At first she gasped at the coldness of the water, and he said: “Sorry, no warm water for the 3rd class. You can already get used to it.”

“Are you calling me spoiled?” she asked, trying to keep her teeth from chattering.

“Of course not.” But she could see his cheeky grin in the mirror.

His movements were slow and languid as he kneaded her hair and massaged her scalp with his fingers, so once she had gotten used to the cold water it was almost relaxing. Still she interrupted him after a few minutes. “Alright, each hair that isn’t wet by now will have to stay as it is”, she said. “Get on with it, my lips are turning blue.”

“Yes, Ma’am”, Jack said with a sigh and she showed him her tongue once again.

The liquid that would rob her hair of its fiery color was as black as the end result was supposed to be. He slipped into the provided gloves and adjusted the towel around Rose’s shoulders to protect their skin before he begun to distribute it. “It’s barely enough”, he noted after a moment.

She watched him critically in the mirror. “Make sure you get the ones behind my ear.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Stop that!” She nudged him with her elbow and he yelped.

“Don’t! I’ll color your face otherwise!”

“Now that would surely rend me unrecognizable”, she said dryly.

Jack grew serious suddenly. “Your parents will look for you. And your fiancé…”

“Well, the whole point of this is so that I’ll look like someone they’d never take a second glance at, isn’t it?” Already most of her hair had caught onto the new color, turning from a bright red into a deep black.

“We’ll still have to be among the first to leave the ship in New York either way”, he gave to consider. “This won’t hold up to a more attentive look.”

“I know.” She sighed. Then she said: “I considered writing them a note that I jumped off the ship at night to keep them from searching for me.”

He halted his movements. “That would be cruel.”

She met his gaze in the mirror. “That’s why I didn’t do it. But maybe I should have.”

“No.” He shook his head and picked up his work again. “I’m sure this will be enough. Helga also said she could lend you some clothes.”

“That would be so kind of her.”

“Then you’ll look like a real 3rd class woman.” He grinned. “Though you’ll always be 1st class to me!”

Her reaction-grin melted into a soft smile. “I love you”, she whispered.

“I love you, too”, he replied without hesitation. Then he added: “But – no offense – I prefer you as a redhead.”

Their laughter could be heard far down the corridor.


End file.
